Decorative birdhouses

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  • LCHIEN
    Internet Fact Checker
    • Dec 2002
    • 20914
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    Decorative birdhouses

    Went into "mass" production on a birdhouse I made a couple of years ago.

    Decorative only, no birds can really fit into it! The interior is only 7/8" deep.

    Fisheye picture is my original commissioned by my wife, sort of adapted from an article in Lowes' DIY magazine.

    For a few relatives.

    The work on this spanned Hurricane Harvey one or two days either way. I almost thought it might never get finished as I comptemplated my garage shop being under water on the second and third and aftermath days of the hurricane,
    Last edited by LCHIEN; 09-04-2017, 12:42 PM.
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions
  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    #2
    Loring,
    I like those. I bet it will make "practical" people (like me) do a double take: "How can a bird get in a house like that?"

    I'm glad to see that you are back in your home and making things.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

    Comment

    • Bill in Buena Park
      Veteran Member
      • Nov 2007
      • 1865
      • Buena Park, CA
      • CM 21829

      #3
      Nicely done Loring - those are fun pieces, eyecatching.
      Bill in Buena Park

      Comment

      • cwsmith
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2005
        • 2737
        • NY Southern Tier, USA.
        • BT3100-1

        #4
        Nice... I like that project, as it's attractive and what my wife would call "Cute".

        Thanks,

        CWS
        Think it Through Before You Do!

        Comment

        • LCHIEN
          Internet Fact Checker
          • Dec 2002
          • 20914
          • Katy, TX, USA.
          • BT3000 vintage 1999

          #5
          FWIW, this is what I needed the multiple short dowels jig for. See my other posts.
          Loring in Katy, TX USA
          If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
          BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

          Comment

          • LCHIEN
            Internet Fact Checker
            • Dec 2002
            • 20914
            • Katy, TX, USA.
            • BT3000 vintage 1999

            #6
            For those that are interested, here's how to make them.

            I just took some cedar fence planks 5.5" wide by 72" long, rough cut from the Lowe, or HD. They run 5/8 to 9/16 thick They last 10-15 years outdoors with no finish..
            Rip some 3-1/2" wide
            Resaw some 3.5" wide to 3/8" thick. This is for the tops and the fronts and backs.
            From the leftovers I ripped some 7/8" wide strips of the original thickness. You need as much of these as you do the fronts and backs.
            Make up several lengths of a rectangular assembly, the 3.5" x 3/8" on the front and back and the 7/8" sandwiched on the sides This makes a long rectangular tube that is 3.5" wide by 1-3/8" thick. I made the tubes about 30 inches long for ease of handling and that's enough for about 4 houses. I used glue and air pinner nails - I did cut some pins later but it's not much of a load on the saw blade to cut through pins.

            The first house has a 45 degree cut front to back. Note to make 4 houses you need to only make 2 45 degree cuts which saves a lot of wood (just flip it over)! The second house has two 45 degree cuts across the face; there's be some wastage here. The third house has a 30 degree miter cut and again, if you flip it you only need 2 angle cuts for four houses and no waste.
            I used my 12" miter saw but I think a 10" should handle these nicely as well.

            Now is a good time to drill the entry holes (7/8" dia) and the perch holes (3/16", 1/4" deep)
            Painted the fronts with a little acrylic pastel colors to give it a little pop.

            Now take another 3/8" thick by 3.5" piece for all the roof tops.
            The first house requires 3.5" wide. The 2nd and third houses need only 2" wide. Cut and bevel as in the pictures, leaving about 1/2" overhang. Glue and pin them in place.

            The width are somewhat critical but the thickness is not so its real easy to build.

            If you want them I can make a print of the front dimensions and the locations of the holes.

            The first set I built I built them one at a time. Some people said they liked the so for a while I've been thinking to knock out a few.- I figured how to make the tubes so it would go a lot faster. This is much easier t obuild 2 or 4 at a time and use the setups on teh saws and drill press.

            The "picket fence" base is just 1-1/2 inch wide 13.5" horizontals and 10.5" verticals.from cedar. Screwed from the back.
            Last edited by LCHIEN; 09-05-2017, 01:23 AM.
            Loring in Katy, TX USA
            If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
            BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

            Comment

            • Turaj
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2002
              • 1019
              • Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
              • BT3000 (1998)

              #7
              Loring,

              Those are really nice! Thanks for sharing. Also glad to see that you are safe and back at home.
              Turaj (in Toronto)
              "When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading!" Henny Youngman

              Comment


              • LCHIEN
                LCHIEN commented
                Editing a comment
                Thanks, Turaj.
            • Two Much
              Established Member
              • Mar 2003
              • 365
              • Long Island, NY
              • (two) Ryobe BT-3's

              #8
              Those houses are very nice. I hope you get nice tenants!

              Comment

              • LCHIEN
                Internet Fact Checker
                • Dec 2002
                • 20914
                • Katy, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 vintage 1999

                #9
                Originally posted by Two Much
                Those houses are very nice. I hope you get nice tenants!
                Thy're fake! only 7/8" deep inside, no bottom,. for decorative purposes!
                But thanks for the comment!
                Loring in Katy, TX USA
                If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                Comment

                • koenbro
                  Handtools only
                  • Mar 2016
                  • 1

                  #10
                  But why not make them "real" so birds csn actually use them?

                  Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

                  Comment

                  • LCHIEN
                    Internet Fact Checker
                    • Dec 2002
                    • 20914
                    • Katy, TX, USA.
                    • BT3000 vintage 1999

                    #11
                    Originally posted by koenbro
                    But why not make them "real" so birds csn actually use them?

                    Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
                    I do have real birdhouses around hanging but they have not been used the last couple of years. THey're a real mess to clean out every year, if you can imagine.
                    But for this my wife wanted them for their looks and colors. Not sure what birds might have wanted these but being mounted on the fence rail it's like have a drive through restaurant for cats and squirrels. Not a good idea.


                    Loring in Katy, TX USA
                    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                    Comment

                    • trungdok
                      Established Member
                      • Oct 2012
                      • 235
                      • MA

                      #12
                      Looks cute.

                      I didn't think about the need to clean out the birdhouses. That's a good point. I will have to make a removable bottom for birdhouses when I get around to build them.

                      Comment

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